Don’t Be an April Fool — Back Up Your Data! March 31st is World Backup Day!
World Backup Day falls on March 31st, the day before April Fools’ Day, for good reason: don’t be fooled into thinking it can’t happen to you. Imagine waking up tomorrow and every photo from the last 20 years — graduations, weddings, grandkids’ first steps — was gone. No warning. No recovery. Just gone.
That’s not a scare tactic. It’s an everyday reality. Hard drives fail. Phones get dropped in the lake. Ransomware locks families out of their computers. And yet, most of us treat backing up our data the way we treat flossing: we know we should, we just haven’t gotten around to it.
World Backup Day (March 31st) exists to change that — one reminder, one year at a time. This year, make it the day you actually do something about it. It can. Visit WorldBackupDay.com for step-by-step guides for every device and skill level.
Image by Davie Bicker from Pixabay
Personal Data
For adults today, digital life has become deeply personal. Think about what lives on your devices: tax returns and financial statements, your entire photo archive, medical records and insurance documents, and years of email correspondence.
Losing any of it isn’t just an inconvenience — it can mean hours of recovery time, real financial costs, and permanent losses no amount of money can replace. With cybercrime rising each year, the threats aren’t just hardware failure anymore. Ransomware attacks hit millions of Americans annually, targeting everyday people, not just corporations.
Options to Consider
So what are your options? Cloud backup services like iCloud, Google One, or Backblaze automatically protect your files online for roughly $3–$10 a month — true “set it and forget it” protection.
An external hard drive (around $60–$80 for 2TB) stores tens of thousands of photos and works beautifully as a secondary storage device. USB flash drives are inexpensive and portable, making them great for important files like financial records. And for households with multiple computers, a small home network drive can back everything up automatically.
3-2-1 Rule
Tech experts recommend what’s called the 3-2-1 backup rule for data protection.
- • Three copies of your data: one primary version and two backups.
- • Two different types of storage media, such as an external hard drive and cloud storage.
- • One copy stored offsite, protecting against disasters such as fire, theft or physical device damage.
You don’t need to be tech-savvy to start. Enable automatic backup on your phone today — on iPhone, go to Settings → your name → iCloud; on Android, go to Settings → Google → Backup. That one step protects your photos and contacts immediately. From there, Windows users have OneDrive built in, and Mac users have iCloud Drive — both offer free tiers to get going.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Secure All Devices
Software updates help prevent crashes, data corruption, and vulnerability to viruses or hackers. The BBB emphasizes updating devices directly through trusted software sources, noting that unsolicited texts or emails promoting system updates could be phishing attempts.
Schedule weekly backup reminders or enable automatic backups across all internet-connected devices. This includes smartwatches, streaming equipment, and other smart home technology that may store personal data.
It’s so easy to skip backing up all devices. According to the National Cybersecurity Alliance, 93% of people believe improving their own cybersecurity practices can protect loved ones, yet many still skip backup steps due to inconvenience or misconceptions about cost.
Life Backup
Like planning for anything in life, it often takes a “trigger”. In the case of data backup, that is when a device crashes or malfunctions. In the case of life, it is the impact of an emergency of a friend, relative, or ourselves that reminds us of the importance of advanced planning.
**One more thing, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA OEP) ends on March 31, if that’s something of importance to you!
Planning for today and tomorrow is an ongoing process throughout life. If you’d ever like to discuss how you’re planning for now and the future, click on Book a Time with Lynn for a complimentary 30-minute Zoom with me. Send me a note via Email or check out what I offer @ The Living Planner.
For you pre-planners, my book is a resource you might enjoy. The 2026 edition of Living Planner What to Prepare Now While You Are Living © has been printed! Check it out HERE.
Quote of the week in celebration of spring: “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” —Leo Tolstoy
Q2, here we come! Lynn
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